As the Ball Drops
by Lady Croww
Summary: RaeRob. review as oneshot first, then read the story and review that. story is raerobror tri CH.7: Robin bails out Speedy after his recovery, Rorek relates his story in a more detailed form, and Robin discovers powers he never had before now. . .
1. As the Ball Drops

As the Ball Drops

By Anubiana

_ Here we go again. Another New Year's Eve at the Titan's Tower. Everybody has been extremely busy trying to find themselves dates for the big night. Apparently, one **has** to kiss somebody as the ball drops. _

_ Like every other year, Beastboy attempted to get me to be his date for the occasion. I have yet to even come close to thinking about saying yes. . . not that I ever will. As usual, Cyborg merely went into the city, snapped his fingers, and found himself surrounded by women. He chose the most stereotypically pretty of them all, a girl of about 17 with shoulder length curly blonde hair and a cheerleading uniform. Normally Robin patrols the city to make sure all of the people are safe. _

_ This time however, Starfire has (somehow) convinced Robin not to think for the city's safety and come join the festivities as her date. He accepted. I don't know what made my stomach feel so cold when I watched her ask him that. I guess its just that she has the same naïve love for our team leader as I had for Malchior. . . Either that, or I'm just je-. Nah. That can't be right. I mean, why would I be attracted to Robin? He's stubborn, obsessed with Slade, argumentative, bossy. . . kind, gentle, caring, handsome. . . Arrgh, get a grip of yourself Raven. You don't like him. You can't like him. You mustn't like him. _

"So Beastboy's visiting Terra, Cye and Mary are staying here, Star and I are going to watch the ball drop from the square, and Raven's. . . Raven, what are you doing?" I looked up from my book. My eyes met the empty white voids of his mask, and I held his gaze for a few moments before answering, "Well, I might as well patrol the city while your on your dates. There's nothing better for me to do."

Beastboy looked indignant. "Hey! That's insulting when one of your options was to spend the night with me!" I turned back to Robin.

"Yet again I state, there is nothing better for me to do tonight."

Robin, Star, the girl Mary, and Cyborg laughed while the green elf turned around in a huff, probably not capable enough to create a witty comeback. Finally, we all went our separate ways. Before patrolling the city though, I looked at the silhouetted figures of Robin and Starfire through the mist, and heaved a sigh as I teleported myself to the borders of town to begin my patrol.

Before we had left, Robin had given me his Bo Staff. In the middle of the night, whenever both of us couldn't sleep, he would teach me how to use it, in case I was in a situation where I couldn't use my powers. He even taught me a little kung fu. After a few weary nights, I could almost defeat him in a sparring match. Pretty good for a dainty girl like me, eh?

I gripped the staff tight and pulled my grasping hands towards my body. It was rather cold, and flying through the air at a rough rate of 40 miles per hour didn't help keep me warm at all either. I settled to the ground, and teleported my self towards the interior of the city. The borders were ok.

"Terra? Terra, I know you can't hear me, but I still came to talk to you. I still haven't gotten through to Raven like you asked me to before. She just won't agree with me that every person in this world should love and be loved in return. I know you would have wanted me to go on and find another girl after you, but Raven? It just feels weird. She's like a sister to me, and I don't know if I could love her like. . . like I love you. Yes, I did say that right. Stone or not, I still love you. You wouldn't believe how many sleepless nights I've gone through after you, or how many times I really have broken down and cried. . . anyways, what I'm getting to is, I love you Terra, and I miss you. I know we have doctors trying to resurrect you from your stony tomb, but they say they just don't have the technology. . ."

Beastboy then got up from where he was sitting on the base of her er. . . statue, and walked up to it. He placed his lips on the pewter form of the girl he loved, and then took off, pausing in the mouth of the cave to say, "Happy New Year Terra," and leave. Unbeknownst to him, a solitary stone tear was shed from the rock covered form of the girl, and fell to the ground. He had already entered the city limits again, so he couldn't hear the faint raspy voice that rang throughout the cave. "Happy New Year, Beastboy."

The area near the titan's tower was ok, so I teleported to the last part of the city that I needed to check out for the night, the area where all of the New Year festivities were being held. I had stopped by the Tower quickly to change into civilian clothes, so I wouldn't be recognized as a Titan. It felt rather strange to be wearing a T-shirt, some faded jeans, an old trench coat, and a scuffed up pair of tennis shoes instead of my normal attire. (leotard, cloak, slippers, etcetera) Although I already knew that my chakra gem implanted into my forehead would attract a few stares, I made sure I wasn't too noticeable.

All of a sudden, I bumped into Robin and Starfire, who didn't recognize me. "I am sorry. Please excuse our being in your way," I heard Star's voice say. I turned my head down and nodded, wishing I had my hood to hide my face under. I glanced back at the two. Starfire had already forgotten about me, but Robin was staring at my retreating form. I turned back around and ran out of Robin's view. I stopped in an alley, and took the bo staff from its hidden spot under my trench coat. Bending over, I gasped for air and said out loud. "Phew, at least I wasn't followed."

Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out from behind me. "Think again, Dark girl." My eyes widened in fear and shock. "Who are you?" I was cut off by five pieces of tape that bound me to the wall behind me and covered my mouth. I inhaled sharply through my nose as I realized that the pieces of tape were all red, and in the shape of X's. Red X stepped out of the shadows of the alley, laughing. His voice held lust in it, and it sent shivers down my spine as he said, "Hello Raven. Long time no see." He ripped the trench coat off of me and his eyes traveled up and down my body, gleaming with desire. My eyes widened as he slowly walked up to me and gently kissed my neck, working his way up until his lips were inches away from mine. I struggled for a few moments before he forcefully pushed his lips against mine. I don't know why he was kissing me, after all, I always thought that Starfire was the one he liked. As if reading my mind, he pulled himself away from me and spoke. "You're probably wondering why I'm not kissing your little alien friend, aren't you?" I barely managed to nod my head. "I only put on the act of liking her to make Robin mad. My real target however," he paused, almost as if he was trying to be dramatic, "my real target was you Raven." He kissed me again, and this time, I fought back. I bit his lips hard enough to make him draw away. I saw that I had ripped off some of his mask to reveal the droplets of blood falling from his lips. He licked the blood and spoke to me again. "I love it when they're feisty." He then bound me again, this time, I was off of the wall, and he carried me into the abandoned apartment whose wall I was recently bound to. He gently placed me on the floor and stared at my bound form. I could see the bloody corner of his mouth turn upward into a smile. He slowly took his shirt off, being careful not to take off his mask in the process, and then came to me and began to rip my shirt off, until. . .

CRASH!

A figure flew through the window, twirling the bo staff expertly. At first I thought it was Robin, but then I realized that the boy standing there had no mask, and was not wearing the uniform I had seen on Robin's body only a few minutes ago when I had bumped into him. "Let go of her you perv!" It sounded a little like Robin, but there was something different about this guy. Red X pressed a button on his belt (which thankfully he hadn't gotten a chance to take off) and blew a kiss to me. I flicked him off with the hand that the mysterious boy had already unbound, and Red X faded, teleporting to wherever his hideout was. The boy had finished unbinding me and helped me up. I blushed, "Thanks."

"You're welcome. Sorry I didn't come sooner, I was trying to find that guy's weak spot and all of a sudden he takes you and jumps into a building. I found this stick on the ground, and thought to myself that maybe 4 years of kendo may have actually helped me. . .sorry he got away." I took the time to pay close attention to him. He was wearing a flight jacket over a 'college' t-shirt like the one Belushi wore in _Animal House_, some cargos, and some high tops. He had handsome facial figures, and his hair was gelled so that it spiked up all over his head. The thing that intrigued me most about him though, were his eyes. They were gold with grey flecks, and for a second, I thought that he looked like a wolf. I snapped back into reality however, when he said, "I'm Richard. Richard Grayson. My friends normally just call me Dick though. . . I don't really like 'Dick' however, so just call me Richard." I shook his hand. "Raven Roth, dark girl, damn glad to meet you." Richard looked a little confused. "What?" I sighed and pointed to his shirt.

"Ohhhhh. Hahaha. So Raven. . . umm, do you want to spend the rest of the night with me? I could help you if any other pervs in costume ever try to rape you again." I forced a small smile and answered, "Sure." Richard brightened up. "Okay, come on!" He grabbed my hand and led me out to the city. We went to a few beatniks, and headed on to a nightclub called _Prime._ Finally, It was a minute to midnight, and after 2 hours of laughing, talking, and smiling, he led me out to the city square. The ten second countdown began.

_10. . . _

"Hey Raven?"

"What?"

"Thanks, I had a great time with you."

_9. ._

"I had a great time too."

_8. ._

"So do you want to maybe. . . hang out some other time?"

_7. ._

"Do you mean. . . on a date?"

_6. ._

"Well. . ." he blushed, "Yeah."

_5. ._

I paused and thought for a second.

_4. ._

"Yeah, sure."

"Great! And Raven?"

_3. ._

"What?"

_2. ._

"Happy New Year."

_1. ._

He leaned forward and kissed me gently. Richard's kiss was different from Red X's. Instead of being forced and hard, his kisses were soft and tender. He drew away from me to catch a breath, and I pulled him towards me in a tight embrace, kissing him again. We finally drew away from each other. I smiled again. "Happy New Year. . . Robin." Robin took one step away from me. "HOW DID YOU?" I cut him off. "Your kiss."

He stopped. . . and then spoke quietly. "You won't tell anyone my identity. . . will you?" I softly replied, "No, I won't tell anyone." We kissed each other one more time and I teleported us to the tower's front door. After pulling his mask from his pocket and putting it back on, he went inside, and I teleported to my room and changed back into my cloak and leotard. Assuming a bored expression, I opened up a bookmarked page of a book I was reading and walked out of the door, down the hall, and into the living room, where everybody was gathered. Cyborg had taken Mary back home already, so it was only us Titans again. I saw Starfire practically choking Robin to death. "Robin! I am so glad that you are safe! After that rude girl bumped into us, you just ran off and I didn't know where you went so I returned here. Cyborg's friend that is a girl got mad at him and left, because she said she didn't want all of us other Titans to interrupt her and him. . . Anyways, I'm so glad that you're safe!" She then turned to me. "So, friend Raven, how was the patrol of the city." Trying to sound monotonous, I answered, "The patrol went fine, in fact, I finished early and hung out with a. . . a friend." Starfire hugged me, yelling, "Glorious! Raven has a friend that is a boy! I am so happy!" Mumbling under my breath, I sadistically stated, "Yeah well, you wouldn't be so happy if you knew who my 'friend who is a boy' is." The naïve alien girl frowned. "What did you say?"

"Oh, nothing. I'm tired, so I'm going to bed. Good night."

Before I went to bed, I heard a knock on my door. I headed to it and opened it. It revealed Robin.

"So. . . uhhh. . . where and when are you meeting your friend tomorrow?"

"10 PM at Prime. . . and he'd better not be late."

Robin grinned. "I'll pass him the message."

A/N- Wow this is my first post of the year! And although i do know that it's a little late to be posting a new years fic (it is Valentines Day), I got grounded before new years and got gasp both Computer and internet taken away. Damn parents. . .all because i got one friggin C on AN INTERIM REPORT. IT DOESN'T EVEN MATTER THAT MUCH! IT's NOT LIKE I'M PERFECT! deep calming breaths This fic is dedicated to all of yall who are waiting patiently for the next chapter of DOW. All I can say right now is that I'm posting it sometime in January or February. And JUST BECAUSE THIS IS A ONESHOT DOESN'T MEAN THAT YOU DON'T REVIEW IT! YOU SHOULD REVIEW IT, DAMNIT! Oh well, hope you enjoyed.- Nubi


	2. Feathers

Holy shit. I'm speechless. . . holy shit! All of yall who reviewed do not know how much you made me smile when I checked my email and found 15 new review alerts in my mailbox. I swear, other than Rhea Hiryuu posting the sequel to her AWESOME fic, Spellbinder, this has really made my day. All answers to reviews will be at the A/N at the end of the chapter. If you remember from the first chapter how Raven said she identified Robin by his kiss, then this is the flashback that will explain it.

As the Ball Drops

Chapter 2: Feather

**Flashback**

I couldn't sleep again. After all, it had only been a week since Malchior- . . . Actually, I would much prefer that we don't hit that topic. Anyways, I quietly padded out of my room and into the kitchen where I made myself a warm pot of tea. There was a shuffling noise behind me, and I got another mug from the cupboard. It was only Robin. We had already become accustomed to seeing each other on restless nights. He accepted the tea that I poured for him and silently nodded thanks. We then sat at the table in companionable silence for a few minutes, sipping tea. When both of us were finished, we made our way to the training room.

Robin and I both knew that one day; we might encounter a villain who would take away my powers. In order to get ready for that, he taught me how to fight with my hands. The first few nights, he taught me a little kung fu, but after he realized that wasn't really my cup of tea, he started teaching me how to use his Bo Staff. First he showed me simple things, such as blocking attacks, and later we moved on to the harder stuff, like blocking things that are thrown at you from above.

This evening, he told me that I had already learned pretty much everything that I would need to know, so we would spar against each other in a match. At first, Robin went easy on me, but as I began to beat him, he worked harder. It wasn't until then that I realized that he was attacking me with full power. I used my swiftness as an advantage, and made sure that I either dodged or blocked every attack that he made. We were both lagging and getting tired, but neither of us would still give up. Finally, Robin knocked the staff from my hand, and collapsed onto the floor. I did the same.

"Wow," he said in between heaving breaths, "that was one of the hardest fights I've ever had." Breathing heavily, I smiled coyly and replied.

"Well, my teacher wasn't half bad."

In return, Robin flashed a grin and said, "Well, he was the best."

"Not to mention that he was very modest too."

Robin stifled a chuckle at my reply. Once we had partially regained our energy, we sat on the bleachers next to the sparring circle, guzzling down bottles of water. Even though the match was meant to tire us, the only thing it had achieved was invigorating us. We sat back on the bleachers and decided to talk and pass the time. Unfortunately, our conversation turned to Malchior.

"Raven, pull up the sleeves of your leotard."

"What?"

"Look, just do it."

Reluctantly, I agreed to do so and pulled up the sleeves, revealing faint scars that were obviously from a knife. Robin looked at them and then me. I was a little shocked that he could guess.

"Raven, How long have you been cutting yourself?"

The cold tone in his voice seemed to make me answer truthfully.

"About a week now."

Suddenly, I found myself gazing into the white film of his mask. His face was uncomfortably close to mine as he said, "Listen, Raven. I'm worried about you. Kitchen knives have been 'missing' from the kitchen, and you'd never guess just where they always seem to go: your room. Look, I've had someone who I thought loved me betray me before, and it was no walk in the park. However, I managed to get over it, and look at me now. I'm living a great life with four friends who I have grown to care about more than anyone else in my life."

I forced a small frown to my face and raised an eyebrow.

"You've been going through my room?"

Immediately, Robin cringed, and then regained his composure quickly.

"Raven, it was for your own good. If you keep on cutting yourself, then those scars won't heal. I know the weakness in your power, Raven. If it is you who inflicts the damage on yourself, then you cannot heal it. Otherwise, however, if it is somebody else hurting you, then you can easily heal yourself just like that. What if Trigon possesses your body, and kills you? He would merely jump into some other little kid. Do you want to spread your father's evil to the rest of the world?"

I looked down, and my hair hung in my face. This time, he hit the nail on the head. I remembered telling Robin everything about myself when we had first met in a dream. I had appeared to him in his sleep and convinced him to co found the Titans with me.

"I never thought of it that way. No. . . I can't let the rest of the people in this universe be affected by . . . by . . . by **_him._**"

The last word that came out of my mouth sounded so vengeful that Robin found it to be a good time to change the topic. Before he could think about his actions, he asked me, "Did Malchior ever kiss you?"

I was completely caught off guard. I didn't expect for him to say that.

"W-w-well. . . you see. . . umm. . . well. . . ok, yes he did. But it was only once. And it wasn't even like a real kiss . . . It was just like kissing a book. I even got a paper cut on my lip and—"

Robin shushed me with a simple finger on my mouth. He was a little surprised at my little outburst. It's not too often that I tell more information than is needed or already known. When I thought about Malchior's kiss, I lost it. I started to tear, and then cry uncontrollably. How could this happen? Equipment began flying all around the gym in a menacing circle. Just as I regained my composure, I looked up at him.

The look on Robin's face was one of pure, genuine kindness as he offered me a corner of his cape. I wiped my eyes on it and muttered a thank you to him. Suddenly, I felt a strong hand, his strong hand, pull my chin up so that our faces were parallel to each other. He gently placed his lips on mine, and pulled me into a tight embrace. I felt my cheeks turn red. Normally, my emotions would go haywire at this very moment, but with him, I felt this sense of I don't know . . . chi, or karma. It was as if I was in my center, my core, my purest, most perfect self. He pulled away and looked at my outfit in surprise. Somehow, it had turned as white as the purest snow for a moment, then back to its normal purple hue.

The sound of Beastboy and Cyborg arguing brought us from our trance. I mumbled a small farewell and made my way to the kitchen, leaving Robin in the training room. Unbeknownst to me however, the moment I left, a large, white feather fell from the sky, and into Robin's waiting hand.

A/N: FLUFF, FLUFF, and more FLUFF. That's all that this chapter really was. Oh well, hope the next chapter sounds better.

Preview: PAINT. LOTS AND LOTS OF PINK PAINT. Also, Raven finds out a shocking secret that may make her and Robin's date a little more . . . interesting.

Answers to Reviews

krissy-08: i'm glad you think i 'sould'. haha, sorri, couldn't help myself.

Darkest Flame- salve?

Brotherhood-of-Darksouls-1: 1.i sed gold 2.oops. . . oh well. . . uhh. . . heheh.

darkaurora333- spork army?

aly-of-tribond: oh don't worry, i will.

Darkmoon Knight: yes, i will update Darkest of Worlds soon. I've been grounded lately and i have had a severe case of writer's block. nice to see you again. also, i'd like to apologize for an email that a friend of mine (Randy Reeves) sent you. He is an immature young boy who thinks he's an adult trapped in a teenagers body.

To everybody else- THANK YOU SO FRIGGIN MUCH FOR MY REVIEWS! Its thanks to people like you that ii continue these things.


	3. Wings

As the Ball Drops

Chapter 3-Wings

By Anubiana

_**6:30 AM**_

"Do you think he's gonna wake up?"

"Nah man, it's New Years Day, you know, National Hangover day."

"Alright dude, but if he wakes up, it's all your fault."

"Point taken."

Beastboy and Cyborg crept up to the side of The Boy Wonder's bed. Suddenly, Beastboy's foot got caught in a snare and he was hanging upside down. They hadn't anticipated that there would be booby traps in Robin's room. Cye snickered, and then stopped, only to be caught in another snare. Beastboy turned into a fly and got out of his snare quickly. He then transformed back to his elfin form and bit the rope that was holding the half man-half human. Cye fell on his head with a dull, clunking sound. Beastboy giggled.

"Sounds like there isn't too much in that head of yours."

In retaliation, Cyborg gave Beastboy's head a sharp rap. All that could be heard was a dull thud, then Cye's laughter.

"Yo, you shouldn't be talking, boy."

"Hey, Shut up! I'm a man now, not a boy. I've been trying to convince you all to call me Beast**_man_** ever since I saved Raven from Adonis, but noooooo, you all have to call me 'Beast_boy._"

Then Cyborg shushed BB.

"Look, we're not supposed to be arguing with each other, we're supposed to be playing a prank on Robin. Look, just get out the pitchers and get to work. I have the paint."

Beastboy looked a little skeptical. "What kind of paint?"

In return, Cyborg gave him a mischievous grin.

"Acrylic."

( ( ( #-#-# ) ) )

_**7:00 AM**_

Robin the Boy Wonder woke up feeling strangely wet. Maybe he was sweaty from the heat that was turned up in his room for the wintertime. Yawning, he swung his legs over the bed and rubbed his eyes awake. His legs now felt wet too. However, he paid no heed to it and jumped out of his bed and onto the floor. Before he knew what was happening, he was immersed in bright, electric pink paint up to his neck. Looking around his room, he noticed that the whole room was submersed in the pink paint. His voice rumbled angrily when he yelled.

"BEASTBOY! CYBORG! YOU HAD BETTER RUN AS FAST AS YOUR PUNY LEGS CAN TAKE YOU BECAUSE I AM GOING TO PERSONALLY HUNT YOU EACH DOWN AND KILL YOU BOTH!"

Outside of Robin's room, one could hear two pairs of feet racing to their rooms. I, wondering what the ruckus was about, had been making my way to Robin's room. I stood right in front of the door and raised my hand to knock when all of a sudden, the door slid open and gallons of smelly pink paint poured out all over myself. Following closely behind it was a very pink Robin. He looked me over then said,

"You take Cyborg and I'll take Beastboy."

With her eyes glowing a slight shade of red, I replied, "That's fine by me."

5 minutes later, Star woke up to hear Beastboy and Cyborg's voices whine pitifully.

"Nooooooooo! Not the yellow, anything but the yellow! Please don't hurt me—AHHHHHH—!"

Curious, Starfire woke up and made her way to the kitchen. When she got there she saw that Raven and Robin were both pink, and Beastboy and Cyborg were yellow. A confused look crossed her face.

"Robin! Raven! Why ever are you covered in the putrid pink substance that you would call 'paint?' And Beastboy and Cyborg, why are you covered in mustard?"

The alien girl went up to Cyborg and dipped her finger in the still wet paint (not mustard) that was on Cye's face. She looked at it for a second, then licked it from her finger. Immediately, she brightened up and said, "Wow! This tastes just like Gl'norfkor Juice from back home on Tameran! She immediately found the two bottles of yellow housepaint and began to guzzle them down. The rest of us sweatdropped as we watched her, with a yellow stain around her mouth, chugging large cans of paint. While this was happening, I took advantage of the situation by running towards the bathroom and yelling, "I've got first shower!"

The boys followed closely behind. The first in line was Robin, then Cye, then Beastboy. Lately, the water system at the Titan's tower had not been working in the private bathrooms, and they all needed to use the public one that guests normally used.

"Dude! Why do I always get last?"

Robin and Cye smiled at the green elf and said, "Because you're a slowpoke!"

( ( ( #-#-# ) ) )

I had just finished my shower and was in the process of tightly wrapping a towel around myself when I noticed something in my reflection from the steam covered mirror. I wiped it off to make sure that I had really seen what I thought I had seen; I had. Spreading across my back were two large, white wings. They looked very out of place on my ashy, pale body. I took a moment to admire them. They were as white as the filmy foam that covered Robin's eyes. I thought to myself.

_Eyes that just happened to be gold. . . with grey flecks. _

I had read of certain chosen people, all of them with qualities that were shared with a certain animal deity. I, being half demon, had two. I was the Raven, from my father's side, and the Dove, from my mother's. In other words, I was a paradox.

It has been said that these chosen ones were tamers of their deity. At a certain period of time, they could shift between their mortal forms and their immortal forms, their second skins as they are called. However, it takes a great deal of energy to morph from skin to skin. I had never really thought that it was true though. I just thought that it was a pretty story that was to be told around a blazing hot fire. If this was true however, then I would be starting my first transformation soon. The wings were a sign of that.

Another thought occurred to me. _What if Robin would have a second skin, and shift into a wolf? _His eyes were one way of showing that he was wolflike. I started to think about other wolfish qualities that he had. He was unnaturally swift, with very strong legs. He also has a quite ravenous appetite, and seems to love eating meat even more than Cyborg at some times. He has even eaten it raw a few times when he was just too lazy to cook it. Also, even with this appetite, he never gets fat at all . . . and he eats more than the entire amount of occupants in the Titan's tower sometimes. No matter what, he always keeps his rock hard abs. Finally, I thought of the two clinchers. His hair was starting to turn a silvery black color (the color of a wolf's fur) and he had growled at Beastboy today, showing pearly white teeth that seemed to be getting sharper.

I gasped. If all of the legends about werewolves were true, then he would be changing for the first time. . . TONIGHT AT MIDNIGHT.

I thought to myself for a second. _Wow, that's really cliché. _Immediately, I left the bathroom with the towel covering the illustrious white wings that were under it, and I made my way to my room to look at ancient books, and be sure as to when Robin's first transformation would be. Today would be a really long day.

( ( ( #-#-# ) ) )

A/N: Well, here's two chapters for you all to check out. Hope you enjoy the next. . .

Preview: They will FINALLY have their date! However, just as Raven is about to drop the bomb on Robin that his second skin is that of a wolf's, Red X shows up to spoil the night. However, Raven's plan backfires and she will fall into the clutches, or should I say _claws_ of another. I'm going to give you all one guess as to who it is. (Here's a hint: This person has been a hero once, but in many more ways than the former, is not one.)


	4. Sovereignty

As the Ball Drops

Chapter 4: Sovereignty

By Lady Croww (or Anubiana)

I sat in my room, pouring over ancient books, all of their subjects: Mythical Creatures. Malchior had left it in my room. Great. Now I have another thing to remember him by. I tucked my thoughts of Malchior away and decided to focus on Robin. If I remembered correctly, then there was a special section on second skins and their tamers. After flipping a few pages, I finally found what I was looking for.

Apparently, there could only be six sovereign tamers on our earth at once, who looked after the lesser tamers of their element. The weakest sovereign tamer was that of the air, whose second skin would be that of a falcon's. The next sovereign would be that of the water, whose immortal form would be that of a dolphin's. The next strongest sovereign would be that of the earth, whose second skin, unsurprisingly, was that of a Grey wolf's. The Strongest sovereign of the known elements would be that of fire, whose second skin would be that of a dragon's. Oh, now that's just lovely. Finally, the one major sovereign over them all would be the representative of the element of energy, who could wield the powers of Construction and Destruction. This is an ancient bird, called Sha'menr'a in Azareth. The Terran translation seemed to be 'Gyrphoenix.'

Dozens of thoughts flowed through my mind as I put the pieces together. Robin was the third strongest sovereign of all, Malchior was the second, and I. . . damn, I hate how most things magical seem to end up revolving around me, but if I'm correct, the Gyrphoenix is the one who wields _construction,_ like a Dove, _and destruction,_ like a Raven.

Again, I glanced at the wings that now flowed across my shoulders. They had turned a misty silvery-grey color now. They couldn't be there for my date with Robin tonight. I at least want to look normal when I walk into Prime. I closed my eyes in concentration and bid them away. Lo and behold, when my eyes opened, they were gone. Now I could begin to concentrate on what I was to wear tonight.

I heard the commotion of Beastboy and Cyborg teaching Starfire how to play Goldeneye (not mine) as I crept down the stairs. They still hadn't heard me until. . .

"Hey! Where's Robin? Tell him that his dear old friend Speedy came to pay him a visit. . . Holy Shit! Who the hell is that hottie!" He began to drool.

Beastboy, Cyborg, and Starfire turned around to see who Speedy was talking about. I turned a bright red when they saw me. I was wearing a black corset tank top with velvet straps, a long crimson skirt with slits up the side going to right above my knee. Black lace up boots that went to the top of my shin and my violet hair pulled back into a ponytail with a few bangs artfully framing my face finished the outfit. When I turned back to my normal pallor, I made up an explanation on the spot.

"I'm going to uhhhh . . . go clubbing."

Unfortunately, it seemed to be the wrong one. Simultaneously, Beastboy and Speedy chimed in.

"We'll go with you!"

Realizing what this meant, the two boys began a glaring contest. After two minutes of staring, they barely noticed Cyborg simply state, "Well Rae, you look great. Have fun, See Ya."

I smiled a little, waved, and teleported out of the tower towards a place that's about one block from Prime. I quickly walked there, constantly freaked out that in every alley I would enter Red X would be waiting for me. Finally, I saw the entrance to Prime and quickly made my way in. After a short conversation with a man working on security, I briskly moved through the swaying mass, all with sweat glistening on their bodies as they moved to the loud, fast techno beat of the music. Finally, I found myself facing a small table next to the bar where Rob—er. . . Richard sat.

His hair was smoothed down and his bangs (which I never knew he had) were swept to the left side of his face. I suddenly realized that his hair was long. It hung down past his ears and framed his square face well. He was wearing a black undershirt which slightly hugged his abs, and faded blue jeans with a black leather belt and red and white Vans slip-ons. Around his neck he wore a chain with a pewter pendant in the shape of an eye dangling from it. Instead of the eye having a pupil though, there was a garnet embedded in the place where the pupil normally would be. He smiled and waved at me as he noticed me, and I saw his eyes trail up and down my body like Red X's did only last night. For a moment I shivered at the thought then regained my composure and walked over to him. I smiled at his remark.

"And who's the one who said 10 PM sharp last night?"

"Okay, so we've danced, talked, danced again, drank some nonalcoholic beverages, and now we're talking again . . . do you have any suggestions?"

I pursed my lips mockingly and looked as though I was in deep thought.

"We could always play '20 questions.'"

Robin chuckled slightly as I anxiously looked to my watch. **_11:45._**

I had about five minutes left until I had planned to tell Robin and take him somewhere else.

"Sure. We can play. . . as long as I get to go first."

I graced him with a slightly seductive smile and nodded. He looked into the sky with a neutral look on his face and then looked back at me.

"Are you a virgin?"

I paused slightly and my face paled a little before I answered him with a soft voice.

"Well . . . thanks to you last night, I am."

Robin looked down and I could barely hear him scuff his feet on the ground guiltily. After a few beats with a more serious tone, I decided to lighten things back up.

"Alright, it's my turn next. I've always wondered this; Does Batman's costumes really have the nipples?"

I could see Robin trying to keep a straight face and swallowing his laughter, but he then stopped suddenly. His eyes were trained on something behind me. There was an unearthly hush that fell across the crowd and I frowned a little when I heard a deep voice answer my question.

"If you'd taken the time to pay attention and turn around, then you'd have probably known the answer to that question by now."

Slowly, I turned around, and frankly to my horror was the Dark Knight himself. I looked at his chest for a moment to see; he didn't have the nipples. Mentally, I smirked. Beastboy and Cyborg had a bet as to whether or not he has the nipples, and I'm sure Beastboy will be pleased to hear that he won. Outwardly however, I could feel my face turning as red as my skirt when Batman pulled up a chair to our table. I looked at my watch again.

**_11:50._**

Thanks to Batboy, I couldn't tell Robin right now. Oh damn. . . now this sucks some major ass. I stood up and excused myself to go to the bathroom. I figured that the two would need some time alone. Five minutes later, I returned to the table, only to find out that they had just left together. Swiftly, I teleported out of the club. It was just my luck that I saw the two enter the park. I levitated myself and began to fly as fast as I could to the park.

I touched ground a few inches in front of them and they both looked up in surprise.

"Robin, what do you think you're doing?"

Robin looked at me a little confusedly and Batman's lips pursed into a frown. Of course . . . Neither of them knew yet. I hurriedly made a decision right then and there. Batman _was_ after all, Robin's former master. It was only fair that he knew too.

"Robin, I'll explain it more to you when we get back to the tower tomorrow, but I need you to get away from your mentor _right now._ Long story short, in about two minutes you are going to shift your form into that of a wolf's because you are a sovereign over all Tamers divided into the Earth element's group."

Both Robin and Batman's jaws were slack and they both said, "What?" Then Robin suddenly let out a bloodcurdling yell. I looked at my watch. **_12:00._** It was time.

_Ya know what? I was toying around with the idea of stopping the chapter right here, but instead, I decided to continue. Right now is intermission in this chapter. If you wish, you may leave your computer right now and go make some popcorn and get a soda. _

Batman and I watched in fascinated horror as Robin began to glow bright red The air grew thick and cloudy against us as we watched as Robin's face lengthened out into a muzzle, his ears stretched up, a long tail began to grow from his ass, and his hands turned into paws. After a few minutes more, standing right in front of me, was a fully grown male Grey Wolf. His golden eyes were aglow with a renewed fire, and he growled menacingly towards me.

I reeled back in shock. I had always thought that Tamers had a sense of what was right or wrong when they shifted form. Maybe I was wrong. Lupine-Robin began to run towards me and he jumped up, teeth set in a snarl and claws outstretched. I ducked and he landed right behind me. Fearfully, I jumped around only to see that he was . . . protecting me. In front of him was a Red Wolf, its teeth set in a snarl almost identical to that of Robin's.

Both pounced at the same time. I could hear them bark and howl until it all just stopped. I closed my eyes slightly then opened them again. Amid the floating dirt and dust, I felt something furry brush up against my leg. I nearly cried out for joy and hugged him. He then changed back into his human form, with his clothes all torn up. I lightly ran my finger across his cheek and . . . OH MY GOD. . . Robin wasn't wearing his mask at Prime, was he? Nonononononononononononono. This can't be happening. Not now. I felt something being injected into my neck and the last words I heard came from the same raspy voice that I learned to fear so much in only one night.

"Don't worry, this won't hurt a bit."

Batman hurriedly moved over to his apprentice. Robin was lying on his stomach. His mentor hurriedly turned him over only to stumble back in surprise. On Robin's chest were two brutal claw marks in the shape of an X. When the Dark Knight picked Robin up, he saw a shadowed figure in front of him. The figure almost mockingly saluted him and ran off into the night, carrying the limp body of Raven with him.

A/N: Gawd, I can't believe I actually found the time to get some work done on this. I know, I know. I gave you all, like, the easiest hint ever last chapter . . . Sorry.

_Preview: "Why aren't you raping me? Why are you being so gentle?" The man poured some tea into two mugs. "Because I'm not who you saw two nights ago."_

Answers to reviews

Tyler: Be happy that I put you first because I don't think your gonna make any new friends by calling them all 'amateurs.' In fact, I think they'll get downright pissed. Before you explained it to me, I got pissed. Anyways, haven't you noticed that James O Barr looks like Control Freak and Becca Britt looks EXACTLY like Sarah from the Crow? PS. Down with Wendy Pepper!

Betrayed05: okay. . . maybe you didn't see the second X episode with somebody new as Red X. . .

halfwolfdemon: i'll think about it . . . maybe later.

ariesfalcon: i'm actually going to do some of the chapters from third person and different points of views later. . . but the Rae pov works well for the beginning.

the wings of a raven: 'you can never have enough fluff' ? well. . .there will be a bit more later in the fic.

tifereth kantrishakram: i agree. i liked as the ball drops as a oneshot better, but people wanted a full story. . . so, here this stuff is. thanks for liking it though!

darkestflame: oh.


	5. The Sha'menr'a

As the Ball Drops

Chapter 5: The Sha'menr'a

By Lady Croww (or Anubiana)

I awoke to the sound of a teapot whistling. Had I really fallen asleep while I was making it? Stretching luxuriously on my bed, I opened my eyes and looked around. This room. . . This is not my room. It was a nearly barren white apartment room, and when I looked for a window, there wasn't one.

_Well, at least that better suits my tastes._

Suddenly the memories from last night hit me like an 18 wheeler. I looked around in fear and suddenly began chanting furiously. However, when I moved my lips, no sound came out. I slumped to the ground in frustration only to meet a pair of familiar steel toed boots.

"I have noticed that you are quite a talented sorceress and I thought it best to put a simple spell to disable your vocal cords. I'll remove it after you give me the information I need to know."

He handed me a pen and a pad of paper, and I immediately wrote the question that was currently haunting me.

"Did you rape me last night? Why aren't you raping me now? Why are you being so gentle?"

"Because I am not the man you saw two nights ago."

The voice that came from Red X was not raspy this time. Instead it was a cultured British accent that seemed vaguely familiar to me . . . a little too familiar. I suddenly realized why I recognized the voice.

_HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET OUT OF THAT BOOK, MALCHIOR!_

Red X took off his mask to reveal shortly cut silver hair and bright blue eyes with grey markings around them; he looked like he stepped out of a roman Sculpture. He blinked and looked at me accusingly as I stared. He looked exactly like Malchior, spoke exactly like Malchior, he even smelled exactly like Malchior. (in the old book sense.)

"So you truly _have_ been dealing with Malchior. In that case, give me one good reason as to why I should not kill you right here and now."

I told him the partial truth.

_Malchior manipulated me into letting him out of the book. I realized he was a dragon too late and then did some quick thinking and found the curse. Then I put him back in his book. _

When the strange man finished my note he glared at me. I could already tell that he didn't believe me.

"I don't believe you (See?), so be patient as I search your mind."

I hurriedly scribbled _NO, DON'T! _ as he began walking to me. He smirked and shook his head mockingly. After what seemed like an eternity, he made it right in front of me and closed his eyes, placing his forehead right below my head and on my neck.

I knew what he was going to see. He was just going to witness a stupid girl who let her defenses down lose all of her good sense because of a dragon who gave her a paper rose . . . nothing more. By the time the man finished experiencing my memory, he was shaking. I suddenly realized that there were droplets of water falling down my neck; he was crying. With a dejected wave of his hand, he lifted the spell from my throat and I could speak again. Unsure of what to do, I held him in a close embrace and wiped the tears from his eyes. After a few seconds, he stopped crying and looked at me apologetically.

"I'm so sorry for the breakdown. When I experience memories, I sometimes feel their emotions too . . . and I had to stop when I saw you put the knife to your arm. Please forgive me for capturing you like this. I thought that you were protecting Malchior. . . except in a way you are."

I looked at him quizzically before asking, "What!"

He smiled down at me and said, "You are protecting Malchior from any other who he may hurt."

I forced a smile back as I realized just how true his statement was, and he pulled me closer to him sympathetically. Tears were starting to form in my eyes. I could tell by the tone of his voice that he was apologetic.

"I'm so sorry . . . When I heard of a dragon at your tower, I immediately checked into all of your backgrounds. It didn't take that much time for me to figure out that you were at least half demon . . . But you are still plagued by the emotions of a human."

I held back the tears and tried to keep my emotions in check. He was right. At that moment, my communicator chose the time to start beeping. The man looked at it quizzically then turned his confused gaze to me. I smiled and wiped my eyes before assuming a neutral expression and turning on the communicator.

"RAVEN! YOU HAVE TO TRY TO GET AWAY FROM WHEREVER YOU ARE NOW!"

I held the communicator away from me. After all, Beastboy could be really loud at times. A questioned look came over my face.

"What's wrong?"

His answer surprised me.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US THAT YOU WERE NEARLY RAPED ON NEW YEAR'S EVE!"

"It must have slipped my mind. How did you know?"

"SPEEDY IS RED X."

"WHAT!"

Gritting my teeth, I told Beastboy to get me Robin. To my horror, Beastboy told me that Robin was unconscious and he patched me a picture of Robin's chest. I looked at the picture in horror than at the man looking at me from the other side of the room. I backed away from the man and towards the wall.

"How do you know that?"

"When Batman told us that he saw Red X carry you off last night, we left him to tend to Robin while we searched for you. You'd never guess who Star, Cye, and I found in this old warehouse building."

"Who?"

"Speedy claiming that some dude with silvery hair that called himself **_ROREK_** took the costume and tied him up here. He then told us that if that dude did that to him for nearly raping you on New Years Eve, then he was sorry."

I looked at the man across the room and turned off my communicator completely. He walked towards me with a worried look in his eyes.

I backed away from him, and I knew that the pain in my eyes was easy to see.

"No. No. You can't be Rorek. You're dead."

"No, Raven. I'm not. I had only one small tendril of magic left after I locked Malchior up. I used it to encase myself in a piece of armor, actually my breastplate, and I would awaken when somebody awoke him.

"You're telling me that breastplate that was recently put in the Tower of London, but was even more recently 'stolen' was really yours?"

"Yes."

I sat down and put my hands to my temples. This was definitely a lot to consume in one day. I felt a strong arm around my shoulders. I looked up to see him with a determined light in his eyes.

"Please Raven, take me to Malchior. I must destroy him before the Gyrphoenix changes."

"Why is that?"

"I have no idea who the Gyrphoenix is. Once the Gyrphoenix has changed, then only the Gyrphoenix can destroy him. Raven? Why are you shaking?"

I looked up at him, but I didn't tell him why I was shaking. I didn't trust him that much yet.

"I'll take you to Malchior."

Bad chapter, next will be better. Now that Rorek's in the game, who knows what will happen? Also, I do have a nasty habit of writing triangles or at least something close to that, so this will end up being a RaRobRor triangle. Who will she end up with at the end? Good question. I don't know either. I'll update as soon as I can. Also, I'm not giving up on Darkest of Worlds. I am just not inspired to write a new chapter for it right now. (It's the writer's block, ya know?)

Preview: _Raven changes on the way to the tower, and Beastboy finds Rorek in Raven's room and assumes the worst. Robin wakes up and finds out about Speedy. The men all square it off in **Friends and Foes**_.


	6. Friends and Foes

As the Ball Drops

Chapter 6: Friends and Foes

By Lady Croww (Anubiana)

* * *

"So when did you cut your hair? How did you adjust to this new era?"

Rorek smiled a little at my questions.

"While encased in my armor, my sense of hearing developed so well that I could listen to things happen as time went by. I would always pay close attention to the things that I heard, and I learned all that there is to know to survive in this world. I cut my hair because people thought that I was a woman."

"How did you get the money?"

"Do you want to know the truth?" I nodded, almost eagerly. "Well, I was a street magician. Soon enough, I made enough money to buy myself a guitar, and I taught myself how to play. Then I became a street musician . . . I-- I also acted as an assassin, but after my first 'job' I decided to quit, because I just felt . . . too guilty."

"I'm sorry to pry, but just who was . . . who was your first 'job'?"

With a wary glance in my direction, Rorek scuffed his feet, grimly laughed, and replied with a slight waver to his voice.

"Princess Diana."

"HOLY SHIT!"

"Keep it down," Rorek hissed. "We're still in a public area.

"You used your magic to kill Princess Diana!"

Rorek shook his head. "Don't even remind me. I actually cried for two weeks after I was paid . . . But I needed the money . . . and I didn't know until I saw on the news how Princess Diana's limo had just 'mysteriously crashed.'"

His face looked pained, and I felt a pang of sympathy. He didn't even know who his target was; just the time of a car's departure and where it was going. His eyes. . . those deep blue eyes. . . Or are they aquamarine? I was so lost in those eyes that I hadn't noticed that we had entered the park to take a shortcut to the tower.

I subconsciously slipped my hand into his . . . Wait a minute. . . I'm making moves on him? As a matter of fact, ever since I woke up, I've noticed that I've been feeling romantic towards Rorek. As we passed under a large oak tree, I concentrated on levitating an acorn. It rose about 2 inches, wobbled, then fell. Suddenly, realization dawned on me. I pulled my hand from his firm grip, turned around, and slapped him.

He put his hand to his cheek and rubbed. There would be a red mark there for a while.

"You good for nothing son of a bitch. You've muddled me **_and_** tried to influence my mind."

He guiltily smiled and scratched the back of his head.

"I thought that you wouldn't have let me come and destroy Malchior if I had just forced you or asked you politely, so I did it the best way I knew."

I pulled my hood up to keep the blush rising to my cheeks hidden. After all, I had allowed him to perform one of the simplest acts of magic on me. There will definitely be another meditation session added to my list of daily sessions for a while.

I stopped suddenly, and Rorek bumped into me from behind.

I . . . I was burning. . .

Burning up inside. . .

My heart . . .

It's in flames. . .

This pain. . .

This . . . this . . .

Light.

"Aaaaaaaauuuuuuuuugggggggghhhhhhhh!----"

* * *

A mad scream erupted from Raven's throat as a grey aura began to surround her. The symbols of ying and yang circled around the aura in flashes of black and white. Slowly circling around her body were the suspended forms of a falcon, a dolphin, a Grey wolf, and a dragon. Slowly, a blinding light progressed down her body from head to toe. As the light passed down, a silver beak emerged, then a head with two big, beautiful black eyes, followed by a long and graceful grey neck. Next were two long, large,wings that shone with an unearthly light and were the color of a light fog. Finally, tail feathers that were rippled with red, blue, grey, white, and hazel emerged from the light. The scream had lengthened and became the pitchy shriek of a bird. However, it was almost like the shriek was actually music, a flute, piano, violin, cello, oboe. . . It was like an orchestra was accompanying a choir . . . of angels. Rorek's eyes widened in surprise. His mouth hung open in awe. When he spoke, his voice was hoarse, almost a whisper.

"The Gyrpheonix."

* * *

A pair of hardened blue eyes looked up from the book they were reading and at the map on the wall. A bright purple light was pulsing on Jump City, and then it suddenly flashed silver. The voice that belonged to the eyes growled.

"The Sha'menr'a. . . The Gyrphoenix . . . Agghhh-- And I didn't realize it until after I used you." A mysterious smile crept played on his lips. "Maybe I can use you one more time . . ."

* * *

INTERMISSION! Grab some popcorn, candy, soda, or whatever you eat while watching a cheesy action/fantasy movie, because some cheesy action/fantasy fighting is coming up!

* * *

". . . Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da, life goes on bra- Lala how the life goes on. . ."

The sound of Beastboy's off pitch (and constantly cracking) voice rang throughout the hall as he continued to ruin yet another brilliant song by the greatest band of all time; the Beatles. His voice dropped to a whisper when he passed Raven's room. There was the sound of someone stumbling in there. He ran up to the door and knocked, yelling, "Hey Raven, I need to talk to you."

He heard a voice cursing from inside the room . . . but this wasn't Raven's voice. It was the voice of a grown man with a crisp and clipped British accent; one that Beastboy recognized well. The peephole opened and a black rimmed eye looked out through it . . . but there was nobody in the hall. He closed the peephole and sighed, shaking his head, unaware of the small green fly that just flew through the peephole. His mind must have just playing tricks on him. When he turned around, a boy with pointy ears and dark-green skin looked from Raven's unconscious body and back to Rorek.

In the elf's eyes, Rorek detected pain, anguish, recognition, and a deep, deep anger; a terrible hatred.

"I don't know how you got out of that book, but you hurt Raven twice now, and I cannot allow that."

Realizing that there would be a fight, Rorek shifted his form into the wolf's. Looking a little surprised, Beastboy shifted himself into a wolf also. Both circled each other, looking for the right moment to strike . . .

* * *

_**Robin's POV**_

Uggh . . .

Where am I?

Where's Raven?

I sat up in my bed only to fall back down again thanks to a searing pain in my stomach. I ran my finger over my chest only to feel a large amount of bloody gauze wrapped around it tightly.

"You're awake. Good. I'll go alert the others."

Batman? How did he get here? I'm not in Gotham . . . I can feel it; I'm not in Gotham. Suddenly, flashes of memories ran through my head. . . Were they my memories? I saw myself encased in a red aura, and I rose into the air . . . Now . . . I was a wolf? Raven. . . Look out . . . a wolf behind you. I snarled and jumped over Raven's frail, moonlit form, growling at the new wolf. I sent him a message mentally.

_**Get away from her.**_

**What are you gonna do about it, Robin?**

I recoiled. How did this wolf know who I was without my costume?

_**Who. . . Who are you?**_

**Let's just say that I've done my fair share of studying. Funny . . . I never imagined you to be a sovereign. **

With that, the other wolf pounced. I have to admit; I didn't do all too well . . . However, I was not that used to fighting in that form. I felt the skin break on my chest as the other wolf hacked at it in a crisscross motion. Suddenly, the world went black, and—

"ROBIN!"

A squeal, followed by a pair of tanned arms wrapping around me and sucking what was left of my air supply interrupted my memory session. With a small voice, I said, "Starfire . . . Starfire, I think I'm fine."

"Yo, good to have ya back, man."

"Same here, dude."

"Be thankful you didn't get hurt any worse.

When she let go of me, I turned my head to see Cye, BB, and Batman at the door. Figures my mentor would say that. Wait . . . Cye, BB, Star, and Batman . . . But where was Raven?

"Where's Raven?"

Immediately, everyone in the room, including Batman winced. They all looked at Beastboy expectantly, and scowling at them (all except for Batman of course), he stepped forward.

"Eh . . .Heh heh . . . Well, ya see; We don't know where Raven is . . . We just know who she's with."

I looked up confusedly.

"What?"

Beastboy scratched his head and looked guiltily over to the others. They all nodded their heads. He turned back around and related the whole story to me of how Speedy nearly raped Raven on New Year's Eve. My eyes then grew cold when Batman stepped in and told me and the others what happened last night. I was thankful when he said that he had ran into me at a club and that I had 'suddenly spotted Raven on the dance floor and went over to ask why she was there.' Thankfully, nobody asked why I was there. He then told us how Red X showed up in the park and cut my chest several times in the shape of an X. He then said that while he was trying to help me he heard a whistle, then saw Red X saluting him and then going off into the night with Raven in his arms. Thankfully, he left out the wolf part too. I'm glad he had a knack for figuring out what to leave in a conversation and what to leave out.

I sat up again, however there was no pain. And out of the corner of my eye, I saw a silver light flash in the park.

"Robin, you should not sit up. Your chest will only get worse."

I slowly began to un-wrap the bandages. I think that silver light healed me. That's weird. Sure enough, when I looked down at my bare chest, it was better, save for a scar in the shape of an X. The others looked at me; they were amazed.

"How did you do that?"

I looked out of the window again, but the silver light was gone.

"I didn't."

After a few minutes, the titans slowly left one by one; Beastboy starting to sing 'Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da', Cye claiming that he had a video game to win, then Starfire heading to the kitchen to make a pudding of happiness in my honor. Finally my mentor glanced at me one last time, then left for Gotham.

_Speedy . . . _

_You nearly raped Raven . . ._

_You went through my things and stole the costume . . . _

_You flirted incessantly with Starfire . . ._

_You nearly raped Raven . . ._

_You nearly raped Raven . . ._

_You nearly raped Raven . . ._

_

* * *

_

_**COME ON! ANSWER ME! HOW DID YOU GET OUT OF THE FUCKING BOOK?**_

**I've told you already; I'm not Malchior.**

**_OHHHH Surrrreee. You actually expect me to believe that? I may act stupid, but I really am not that dumb. So explain this then; Why do your eyes look exactly like his? Why does your voice sound exactly like his? Explain that. WHY!_**

**Because Malchior's my brother.**

Beastboy stopped suddenly as Rorek shifted back to his human form. Cautiously, he did too. Rorek held his hands out and one could see the tears welling up in his eyes.

"My mother was known to be a scandalous woman. However, she was also a respected sorceress. Sometimes when young men could not pay her, or refused to pay her, she slept with them for her pay. I never knew why. One day, the king came to her and refused to pay for her services, so naturally, she slept with him. That same day, a poor man who had a very sick daughter came in and could not afford to lose her. She was all he had. He said that he was willing to do anything, so she slept with him also. Only after they slept together did he reveal himself as Corin the Great; a well known enchanter; the strongest type of magic user other than a tamer. He told her that she had two children in her womb, and one of them would grow up to be selfish and greedy like the king, while the other would grow up with a sense of honor and pride for his family, like himself. However, the only way to cause our demise would be if one of us destroyed the other before the Gyrphoenix's first change. Nine months later, she had us. He was Malchior of Nole, heir to the throne of England, and I was Rorek of the Divine Light, the child of Corin the Great."

Beastboy sat on the bed next to Raven, stroking her hair softly. When he spoke, Rorek still detected disbelief in there.

"That's a pretty story. Did you think all that up just then? Honestly, I am truly not that stupid. How come I've never heard of Malchior of Nole before this then? How come when one opens a history book on England, they don't expect to learn of 'Corin the so called Great'? Why do they not know of his son, the half-brother to the heir of the throne who was Corin's child? Tell me **_Rorek_**, why? Why are you hurting Raven?"

"GODDAMNIT! I DID NOT HURT RAVEN! SHE IS ONLY UNCONSCIOUS FOR GOODNESS SAKE! SHE JUST TRANSFORMED INTO A MYTHICAL BEING AND I THINK THAT WOULD BE TIRING TOO!"

"Hold on a sec, rewind. Raven just turned into a mythical creature? What the hell did I miss here?"

Suddenly, Raven stirred and awoke to find her head laying on Beastboy's lap. She then looked over to Rorek, who was sweating.

"Uggghh. . . get the hell away from my head."

She saw Rorek glaring at Beastboy and the green elf returning the expression full heartedly.

"Ummm . . . did I miss something?"

Robin looked up at the computer screen. There were several flashing lights that were constantly moving. The only one that he saw though, was the one with a lightning bolt symbol next to it. He downloaded the lightningbolt's signature onto his communicator, then gathered his things. He was going to visit an old friend.

* * *

A/N: Wow, that was a much longer chapter than I would normally write . . . However, yall all deserve it since I haven't updated lately. If you are a DOW fan also (my other fic), then you won't see DOW up until this summer, when I post my new fic, 'Darkest 2.0'For more information, check out the author's note in place of chapter nine. That's my take on the death of Princess Diana. Also, if you're confused about Malchior and Rorek, they are both tamers; Rorek just has more natural magical talent and skill while Malcihor's was only gained from his sovereignty over the element of fire. Also, email me any ideas as to who should represent air and water (check chapter four) at Robin bails Speedy out of prison in the hopes of having a little . . . 'chat' with him. Also, Rorek's presence at the tower is made known to everyone and the story of the tamers (And why Malchior and Corin and Rorek are never mentioned in the history books and such) Is all going to be explained in Chapter Seven: **_Shayx _**


	7. Shayx

As the Ball Drops

Chapter Seven: Shayx

By Lady Croww (Anubiana)

_Click._

_Creak._

_**BOOM! **_

The sound of metal slamming upon metal rang through the hallways of the Jump City Prison Facility's Alpha Wing; The wing where those who the Titans caught were put. A masked boy with a muscular figure and reddish hair that matched the bright orange jump suit he was wearing walked with his head down as he was being escorted by two particularly large men to a white room that seemed brighter due to its fluorescent lighting. The only bit of colour that he could see in there was a bright yellow, red, and green costume that belonged to a boy who looked to be his age.

"This who you need Mr. Titan?"

Robin looked up and eyed the prisoner warily. His lips curved upward slightly as he answered, "Yep, that's the guy. I'll take him into custody from here."

"Will you require any assistance on escorting him to your tower?"

The hint of curve disappeared, and his face showed no emotion.

"I think I can handle him on my own."

"Okay, Mr. Titan . . .and what about his belongings?"

"I'll take those for examination and evidence."

"Alright."

The three men handcuffed the prisoner, and then shuffled out of the room, leaving Speedy and Robin alone in the room. The empty voids of each others' masks met the other's. When Robin spoke, breaking the silence, his voice was laced with malice.

"You have a lot of explaining to do."

_**Raven's POV**_

"Ehhh . . . well, Beastboy, this is Rorek. Rorek, I see you've already . . . uhhh . . _.met _Beastboy."

Rorek's eyes narrowed in Beastboy's general direction, though his question was directed to me.

"He isn't a tamer, is he? I don't know of any Elvin tamers."

"No, he's a shapeshifter. The tamer you've met already is Robin."

"Who?"

"The wolf whose chest you slashed at in the shape of an X. You know; **_your sovereign._**"

I put extra emphasis on the last two words, pointing out that Rorek should not have hurt Robin. Beastboy waved his hands in my face frantically.

"Heeellllloooo? Earth to Raven and her spooky little feelings; Why is he here? Why'd you let him out of that book again?"

I turned to Beastboy, wondering how he knew what Malchior had looked like anyway then stopped. I had forgotten that he had snuck into my room multiple times and seen Malchior and I.

"This is not Malchior; This is Rorek—"

"Yeah, yeah, Rorek of the Divine Light, only son of Corin the Great, brother to Malchior of Nole, heir to the throne, yadda, yadda, yadda."

"What?"

Something must be wrong . . . **Beastboy** has me confused? **Beastboy**! Rorek visibly cringed and I turned to him with an inquisitive pasting itself to my face.

"Why, whatever is he talking about, Rorek?"

After sending a quick glare towards Beastboy, Rorek turned to me and spoke.

"I believe that is none of your business, Milady Raven."

I smirked. Maybe being the Sha'menr'a isn't all that bad after all.

"As your supreme sovereign, I demand that you tell me what you told Beastboy while I was unconscious."

"Damn."

Rorek shifted about and looked around, his eyes settling behind me and Beastboy. We turned around and saw Starfire and Cyborg in the doorway giving the three of us confused looks. I spoke with a newfound eloquence that I seemed to never have until now.

"Hello, everybody. This is my captor, Rorek. He was supposed to come here to destroy Malchior, but he instead decided to try and seduce me and repress my powers so I could give him a VIP pass. Apparently, he and Beastboy don't seem to agree on all issues political, although they both seem to want to keep me in tact. By the way, how is Robin healing? I'm making Rorek tell us all about his life for nearly killing him, not to mention kidnapping me."

Starfire still looked at me quizzically, then she looked to Rorek and tentatively made her way into my room. Speaking of which, I need to kill Beastoby and Rorek for going into my room.

Starfire looked to me and asked, "Is he a friend to us, or a foe?"

"Oh, don't worry, he's required to be a friend whether he likes it or not. I'm his supreme master, so he has to like me and you all unless he wants to be killed by me."

"Oh, OK."

She flew over to Rorek and wrapped her arms around him in a death hug, squealing like a pig at the slaughterhouse as he began to choke.

"Ooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhh, Welcome Friend Rorek to our humble abode. According to Beastboy, we are the Titans and we majorly kick the proverbial donkey multitudes of times! I'm Starfire! Oh! I could make some pudding of happiness! It is such a joyous occasion, for we do not receive many visitors here!"

As Rorek tried to gasp out his answer, and Beastboy laughed at Rorek being choked, I felt Cyborg's hand on my shoulder. I turned around to see him look at me, stone faced.

"We need to have a talk."

I nodded and turned to the others.

"Starfire, stop choking Rorek and go and make your pudding of happiness. Beastboy, show him to Speedy's old room and try not to act macho. As for you," I turned to Rorek, "Teleport your things from that apartment into your room then go and eat Star's pudding. No spells, curses, or hexes on Beastboy or the pudding at all, got it? Good, then go."

"What's the difference between Beastboy and the pudding anyway?"

"Just go."

Starfire looked at me confusedly before letting go of Rorek and floating to the kitchen; She obviously was not used to having me speak more than one sentence or give orders for that matter. Beastboy sulkingly led Rorek out of the door and towards Speedy's old room. I then beckoned Cyborg to come in and shut the door. He frowned.

"Raven, are you ok?"

"Well, let's see, that's a great question . . . hmmm . . . every minute of my life, I have to worry about being possessed by my father, and—"

"You know that's not what I mean? Why are you acting so . . . differently? I mean, normally less than two sentences leave your mouth, so what's with the paragraphs?"

"Robin and I founded the titans together. We made a pact that when he was incapacitated, I would take over. Though he named you his second in command officially, I'm the unofficial one. I took charge when I needed to . . . after all, it's not too often that we have magical guests that only I can really handle at the tower."

"So you're sure you're ok?"

"Yes."

"Well, this won't help then. I just went in to the infirmary to check on Robin, and he wasn't there. I didn't find anything that signified how he left."

My eyes narrowed. Robin; gone? Why?

"Did you try him on his communicator?"

"Nope. I wanted to tell you first," He smiled a little, "I acknowledge your unofficial second-in-commanded-ness."

"I'll call him then. Don't worry. Go get a plastic bag and head to the kitchen. I'll be right there."

"A plastic bag?"

"Sure, just in case Rorek needs it. I don't want him to stain the carpets when he vomits, and I have a feeling Beastboy may not show him where the bathroom is."

Cyborg laughed a little then left.

**Beep.**

**Beep.**

**Beep.**

"Are you gonna get that?"

**Beep.**

**Beep.**

**Beep.**

"Just hold on a second."

_Robin? Robin, are you ok?_

"Raven! You're alive!"

_Ditto. I guess you're alright then if you've already left the sickbed?_

"I am after all, the Boy Wonder."

_You should change that to something like, I don't know, the Teen wonder or something. You are seventeen. (after all) _

"Oh shut up. Is that all you called me for?"

_Yes. When'll you get back to the tower?_

"Don't worry, I'll be back soon."

_Alright, bye._

a beat.

"So, you and Raven close or something?"

Robin looked to Speedy, contemplating whether or not to do it; and after a few seconds, he decided he would. He peeled off his mask and combed his fingers through his hair, deforming the gel and making his hair look more natural. He blinked, turning to Speedy with his eyes glinting dangerously, then said, "I'll let you decide."

Speedy's eyes widened in recognition. His voice sounded venomous.

"It was you. You were that annoying jerk who kept me from Raven."

Laughing, Robin threw the box of belongings to Speedy.

"Change. We're gonna fight to the finish. You'll pay for New Year's Eve, whether you harmed Raven or not."

Speedy (surprisingly) quickly changed, combed his hair, and then fitted an arrow to his bow.

"Bring it on."

"You are evil."

My lips held a faint trace of a smile.

"No, you are legions beyond evil. You are the child of Satan himself."

I barely winced. The barbed remark had hit a nerve, and it took a ton of control for me not to . . . 'explain peacefully' that his comment was dangerously close to being true.

The scene before me was interesting. Beastboy and Cyborg were on the floor laughing, Starfire, standing next to the remains of her pudding of happiness, was confused, and Rorek had his face buried into the trash bag that Cyborg had provided him. I stood in the corner, watching him receive his punishment for hurting Robin and seducing and kidnapping me. I think that was punishment enough.

Once Rorek ceased to throw up, I gave him a glass of water, and we made our way into the living room. I bid him to stand in front of us and whispered into Beastboy's ear so only he could hear.

"If he lies about anything, tell me."

Rorek glared in the green changeling's general direction, as if he had heard us, then began his tale.

"My mother was Fianna, a minor sorceress. She had always held a passion for . . . well, passion. The townsfolk always came to her for herbs or to get healed. However, the only customers she would take were men, and if they couldn't pay her or refused to pay her, she would sleep with them for her charge."

At this point he paused, as if trying to recall something. I looked to Beastboy inquisitively, and he nodded once. Rorek was telling the truth so far. After a few minutes, he remembered and continued.

"The King had heard of her powers, and wanted her to help him. For years, he had never been able to produce an heir, and whenever his wife had a girl, he killed the wife and the child. He came to my mother to make sure that his next child would be a boy. She performed the procedure, and then he refused to pay her, knowing full well what would happen. They slept together that night. The day after the king left, a young peasant man went to my mother with his sick daughter. He was too poor to pay, so naturally they slept together. The next morning, he revealed himself to her as Corin the Great, the most powerful enchanter in England."

"He told her that she had two children in her womb, one was his child, one was not. The elder would grow to be full of greed, like his father, and the younger would be just as powerful and proud of his family and himself as his father. Nine months later, she gave birth to Malchior of Nole, heir to the English throne. One day later, she had me, Rorek of the Divine Light, son of Corin the Great."

"The King did not know that I was not his son yet, and when he took my mother, brother, and I in, we became his family. Corin's prophecy was proved true when Malchior stole three golden crowns and refused to give them back, and I constantly went on walks in the forest, where I would meet with my father and be tutored. On one such day, Malchior followed me and I didn't notice. That day, my father and I continued the lesson on beings called tamers, the only magic users stronger than enchanters. He taught me the spell to force a tamer to change to its animal form, and the moment I said them, I was a wolf, and an enormous dragon was standing outside of the cave."

"The moment the dragon spoke to me, I knew it was my brother, Malchior. He said, '_You dare call this one your father?_' 'He is my father,' I replied. I was too proud not to admit so. Malchior had a terrible temper, and he killed my father, then turned to me."

"I was desperate. I wanted to live more than anything, and my father had not taught me the words to force tamers back to their normal forms. I told Malchior that I could teach him everything he'd need to know about basic magic. He allowed me to live. I taught him everything that my father had taught me, and he soon began to study alone at his own rapid pace. I was thankful that he had seemingly forgotten that he wanted to kill me until a few days after we turned twenty-one. I went down into the town to propose marriage to a young girl who I had been seeing for a while. When I went into the house, she claimed she had never seen me before and was already engaged to her true love, Malchior."

"I was angrier than ever. He had stolen my one love away from me, only because I had something that he didn't that made me happy, and for that reason only, he wanted it. That same night, the King died mysteriously, but my mother and I both recognized the magic as Malchior's signature. She killed herself for fear that her son would kill her too. The day before my brother's coronation as king, I went to my father's old cave to brood and came upon two books, one black, and one white. Each held only one curse. The black's curse erased absolutely everything that happened in a period of time chosen by the user of the curse. This curse was called the Shayx curse. The white's told me how to capture a powerful being in the book. That was the Shixe curse."

"That night, I performed the Shayx curse and erased everything from that century. Though I had originally thought that it would cancel out even me, Malchior and I were the only two left, standing in the wreckage of what looked like an abandoned castle. We began to battle, and once he realized the odds were against him, he shifted into his dragon's form. I am—was more powerful while I was not in my tamer's form, so I first charmed myself so I could not be force changed."

He stopped and gravely smiled in my direction.

"I believe that you already know the rest, milady."

The odds were looking bad for Robin. Speedy had already caught him with six arrows, four embodied with elemental magic, and two with light and dark magic, and yet the archer had no scratch on himself. The Boy Wonder was seemingly about to lose when he suddenly thought of his tamer's form. That could give him enough shock value to creep out Speedy, and he would still have the advantage of being more lithe and agile. However, no matter how much he had wanted to bid himself to change, he couldn't.

Robin was majorly lagging. He was on the verge of collapsing by the time that Speedy had fit his most powerful arrow to his bow. At this point, Robin had the insane urge to put Speedy into a coma. He reached his free hand out, clenching Speedy's invisible skull. However, he did not notice that at the same time, Speedy was clutching his head in agony. The minute he saw that, he frowned, and the squeezing immediately stopped as Speedy fainted. Robin waited a few seconds before getting out his communicator.

"Hello, Bruce?"

_Yes?_

"I need you to get in touch with Green Arrow for me."

_. . . Why?_

"Just send him to the tower to pick up his apprentice. I'll fill him in when he gets there."

_. . . Okay. . ._

The two hung up on each other, and Robin only had enough time to mentally call for help before he collapsed on the ground next to Speedy.

It was normal for Raven to stay up late while the others slept, but this night was important. She had meditated for seven hours to prepare herself for this moment. With that, she stood and walked over to the black chest in the corner, and opened it. After blowing the dust off of the book, she was not surprised when the book began to speak.

"Lovely day for forgiveness, is it not, Sweet Raven?""

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A/N: Seventh chapter up, only three more to go. I realize this is a little confusing to some. (I usually write complicated stories.) I also realize Robin and Raven were a littttlllee out of character at some points, but. . . this is my fanfic! I'll do what I want with it! Nyah! I went to a Jimmy Buffett concert yesterday! HECK YEAH, it was awesome! (my fictionpress name is 'La Cabeza de Parot666' . . .) . . . If you do wonder why it's that, then either I'm scared of you, or you don't take Spanish (Even though I suck at it. . .) yeah . . . Anyways, only three more chapters, then. . . dum dum duh daaah. . . Darkest 2.0 will be posted. Yay, vampires! Any comments, just review. By the way, what's with the fucking acronyms thing? My friend said (In real life) 'brb,' 'omg,' 'g2g,' 'lol,' and 'my b.' Ye Gods, JUST SPEAK NORMAL FUCKING ENGLISH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! USE ACRONYMS ON INSTANT MESSENGER OR IN REVIEWS IF THAT TICKLES YOUR FANCY, BUT **NOT IN REAL LIFE**!

- Lady Croww

PS. I am going to reinstill the story of the chapter for just this chapter, because I (sadly, only recently) found an amazing story called **Blackbirds Singing in the Dead of Night** you know, after the awesome Beatles song. (HELL YES FOR THE BEATLES!) Anyways, I found it about a week ago and it's one of the best fanfics I've read so far. (Note the fact that it's not on my favorites yet cause there was too much work on the site or something like that. . . some sort of invalid url. . . ) Anyways, It is filled with great descriptiveness, an original plot and storyline (which is bloody good in its own right, even if the author kills off Batman in an accident.don't worry, you find out in the first or second chapter anyways) And it is one of the best first person point of view stories that I have read since **These Black Eyes**, by Post. (Another damn good fanfic.) So anyways, when you're done with this chapter, go read Blackbirds. . . Believe me when I say you won't regret it.

(Preview: Rorek hears Robin's call for help and goes out to get him. . . and apologize. Raven and Malchior speak briefly, reawakening feelings Raven didn't know she still had, and Green Arrow comes to pick up Speedy.


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